TYLER, TEXAS – #3 UT Tyler will take on St. Edward's and St. Mary's for the final home doubleheaders of the 2021 season on Sunday and Tuesday afternoon.
The two Lone Star Conference series will be the final action for the Patriots at Suddenlink Field this year, and potentially the final home series for UT Tyler as provisional Division II members as the institution is set to hopefully complete the three-year Division II transitional period this summer. Sunday's games will serve as Senior Day while Tuesday's games against St. Mary's have been rescheduled due to inclement weather in the Tyler area and will preclude a trio of showdowns for the Patriots to finish the 2021 season.
UT Tyler will head north after Tuesday's games against St. Mary's for a doubleheader against #10 Oklahoma Christian on Friday afternoon, pitting the top two teams in the Lone Star Conference based on conference record entering this weekend against each other.
Both doubleheaders on Sunday and Tuesday of this week are set for 1 p.m. starts. UT Tyler softball will honor 10 seniors between games on Sunday afternoon as part of the annual Senior Day celebration.
IT'S A TRAP
UT Tyler finally jumped Texas A&M-Commerce as the highest nationally-ranked Lone Star Conference team, moving up to no. 3 in this week's NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll. The Patriots enter this weekend's games with a two-game advantage over Oklahoma Christian in the Lone Star Conference standings, and will make it a point not to overlook quality St. Edward's (12-12, 8-10 LSC) and St. Mary's (16-14, 11-7) teams ahead of the trio of final series of the season against #10 Oklahoma Christian, Cameron and #6 Texas A&M-Commerce.
Both St. Mary's and St. Edward's handed Oklahoma Christian one of their five losses on the season, and are capable of being tough tests for the Patriots this weekend at Suddenlink Field despite entering the weekend in the middle of the pack in the Lone Star Conference standings.
PASSING THE TEST AGAIN AND AGAIN
Much of the narrative surrounding the preseason hype of both last season and this season for UT Tyler was based on how head coach
Mike Reed's national-powerhouse program would fare against the top teams in the Lone Star Conference week in and week out. The Patriots proved they could hang at the top of the league prior to last season's COVID-19 shutdown, but have aced each test along the way this season to prove that the winning tradition of Patriot softball isn't going anywhere despite the uptick in competition that the Lone Star Conference will provide.
The Patriots dominated the traditional three top dogs in the LSC this season in then-ranked no. 17 West Texas, then-ranked no. 24 Angelo State, and most recently then-ranked no. 12 Texas A&M Kingsville last weekend. The 7-2 and 5-4 wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville followed by dominating 9-1 and 19-0 wins over Texas A&M International on Sunday passed yet another test for coach Reed and the Patriots with the flying colors, handling the notoriously difficult road test at Kingsville and a long road trip to Laredo with ease.
UT Tyler has posted a hitting percentage of .346 as a team in those six wins over nationally-ranked LSC foes, and have outscored those three opponents 45-to-11 in the six games. Pitchers
Payton Foster and
Erin Hill have navigated some of the best lineups Division II has to offer in those contests against West Texas A&M, Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville, and have tossed a combined five complete games while sporting a 2.03 ERA.
YOUNGSTERS GETTING COMFORTABLE AT THEIR NEW HOME
UT Tyler has produced a record of 13-3 at home this season at Suddenlink Field and an 11-1 record in home Lone Star Conference competition. Veteran bats such as
Ashley Perez,
Haleigh Swinney and
Tristin Anders have all continued their custom quality play within the friendly confines of Suddenlink Field, but the rise of the level of play from the "new wave" of underclassman within the UT Tyler softball program has certainly been a positive sign for what's to come.
Freshman
Courtney Plocheck (.389) and
Kyla Mach (.345) have produced two of the top batting averages for the Patriots in home contests this season, while redshirt freshman
Amanda Marek has hit seven of her team-high nine homers at Suddenlink Field.
Combine that with sophomore pitcher Foster's 0.91 ERA in 49.1 innings thrown in her home circle, and the future of Patriot softball in potential full-fledged Division II status is certainly in good hands.
